Strip Down Your Yoga Practice For A Stress-Free Holiday Season

The holidays are notoriously busy. Schedules change. Sleep is disrupted. We eat differently, usually worse! And we’re often confronted with the emotion —both positive and negative— of being with family.

These times are when it’s especially important to commit to our yoga practice. It helps us cope with stress, feel better in our bodies and be nicer to the people who challenge us.

Stripped Down

Instead of pushing to harder and deeper postures in your yoga practice, go deeper in your relationship with yourself. Strip down to the breath. Deepen it. Connect with yourself instead of performing poses.

Use your practice to give you time and space to contemplate how you can simplify your life and make the important things your priority. Your inner connection and this sense of space will make the holiday season much less stressful.

Here is a gentle sequence to simplify your practice, but to reach most of your body. Arms, shoulders, sides, hips, feet and legs are all covered. All photos were taken by my husband Aaron, in October, under the glorious face of El Capitan in Yosemite Valley, a place that feeds our souls.

Virasana: crossed feet and eagle arms

Virasana

Foot Massage

Place the instep of your left foot over the arch of your right foot, then sit back on your heels. (If knees and feet don’t like this, you can sit with your feet apart and your bum on a yoga block).

Shoulder Opening

Cross your right elbow atop your left and wind your left hand around to hook your right palm with your fingers for Eagle Arms.